• Margaret Simons

29 January 2009The pay TV industry has opened up a new front in its battle with free-to-air, writes MARGARET SIMONS on our partner website, Inside Story

HOW many submissions from the public constitute an overwhelming response? Last Friday the federal government released more than 2400 submissions to its review of public broadcasting, and the claim has been made that this demonstrates overwhelming public involvement.

Yet twelve years ago when Bob Mansfield conducted his inquiry into the future of the ABC he received over 10,600 submissions - more than four times the current number. It was this convincing evidence of public affection and concern for Auntie that convinced Mansfield the organisation should continue as a broadly based public broadcaster rather than being recreated as an organisation addressing only those types of content that the commercial organisations couldn’t or wouldn’t provide.

Has public support and affection for the ABC declined by more than three quarters? I doubt it. The Mansfield inquiry was better publicised than the present public service led review. As well, in 1997 the ABC was understood to be under imminent threat from the new Howard government. The troops rallied.

Today the medium term threat is just as great - but the troops are diminished in number and distinctly off topic. Many of the lobby groups and individuals whose submissions support the ABC are stuck fighting yesterday’s battles. Often, they have failed to grasp the changes technology brings and the new and fundamental challenges to public broadcasting’s claim on the public purse...

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